RESUMO
Background: Ulcers and surgical wounds not healing well andexpectedly are common problems among patients in countrieslike us. Ulcers may develop spontaneously or following apenetrating injury. Wounds not healing well are commonamong poor, lower middle class and middle class people.Postsurgical non-healing wound or chronic discharging sinusesat the scar site are also common in that class of people.Suspecting malignancy or tuberculosis in these types ofwounds we have sent wedge or excision biopsy for theseulcers in about 500 cases and found tuberculosis in 65 cases.In rest of the cases histopathology reports found as nonspecific ulcers, malignant melanoma, squamous or basal cellcarcinoma, Verruca vulgaris.Objectives: To find out the relationship of tuberculosis withchronic or nonhealing ulcers.Methods: This is a prospective observational study conductedfor patients coming to our chambers, OPD of a district generalhospital and Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital,Dhaka.Results: Mean age of the study subjects were 28±2. Amongthe study subjects nonspecific ulcer or sinus tracts were foundin 418 (83.6%), tuberculosis in 65 (13%), Malignant melanoma7 (1.4%), Verruca vulgaris 5 (1%), squamous cell carcinoma3(0.6), basal cell carcinoma 2 (0.4%). Biopsy done only forvery suspicious ulcers or wounds.Conclusion: With this very small sample size it is difficult toconclude regarding incidence of cutaneous involvement ofextra pulmonary tuberculosis, but every clinician should think ofit in case of suspicious non healing wounds, ulcers andprolonged discharge from a surgical incision site.